کفش

کفش در بیار (kafsh dar biyâr), "take off your shoes," is something a learner hears within minutes of entering an Iranian home. Shoes-off at the door is universal across class, region, and city in Iran. Carpets are a serious household investment, sometimes generations old, and outdoor shoes are simply not allowed on them. The same rule holds at mosques and shrines, where rows of shoe shelves line the entrances. Forgetting and walking in with shoes on is one of the most reliable cultural slips a foreigner can make. The fix is easy: pause at the doorway, look down, and follow what everyone else is doing.